Deadly NJ Transit crash in Hoboken could snarl travel for weeks

The Hoboken terminal serves as a hub for people traveling between New Jersey and New York City.

The Friday morning commute will be a test of patience for travelers as they navigate a network of makeshift routes, shuttles and carpools on both sides of the Hudson.

The Hoboken terminal — which serves an estimated 50,000 riders a day — sustained structural damage when an out-of-control NJ Transit train plowed into the station, spraying debris that killed a woman standing on the platform. More than 100 people were injured around 8:45 a.m. on Thursday.

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The deadly crash left some travel options suspended as engineers continued to inspect the building's integrity.

"There's structural damage to the station itself, and we don't yet know how long that damage will take to repair, or what the consequence (is) of that damage," Gov. Cuomo said at an afternoon press conference.

While PATH service resumed Thursday afternoon, other travel options remained unavailable, leaving people scrambling to find alternative plans. In the days and weeks ahead, the crash could have a domino effect — causing delays and longer wait times as rerouted commuters pursue other travel options, including driving or taking a bus.

Hours after the crash, NJ Transit announced plans to expand bus, rail and light rail services to accommodate the closures at Hoboken. NJ Transit rail tickets will be cross-honored Friday for bus and ferry travel, and ferry service will resume at Hoboken Terminal at 6 a.m. Friday.

Passengers who usually travel in and out of Hoboken were being shuttled Thursday to trains at Secaucus Junction for trips in and out of Manhattan. MTA's Metro-North service will provide shuttle buses that will carry commuters over the river to their NJ Transit stations.

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Scenes from Hoboken NJ Transit Station after train crash

A crash at the same station on a different train line injured more than 30 people in 2011. The PATH commuter train crashed into bumpers at the end of the tracks. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its report about that crash, identified the probable cause as "failure of the engineer to control the speed of the train entering the station."

The lack of a Positive Train Control system — still not installed on Jersey trains — would likely have prevented the crash, investigators said.